Victor Osimhen, Super Eagles star, gets CAF nomination for 2023 awards

Victor Osimhen, the Super Eagles forward, has been shortlisted by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for the 2023 awards.

Osimhen, who was ranked as the world’s 8th best player by FIFA on Monday, is one of the 30 contenders for the top male player in Africa.

Osimhen is the leading candidate to win this year’s edition of the prestigious award.

The Nigerian international netted 26 goals in 32 games to help Napoli clinch their first Scudetto in 33 years last season.

The 24-year-old also bagged five goals in six UEFA Champions League matches for the Partenopei.

He is aiming to become the first Nigerian to win the award since Nwankwo Kanu won it in 1996.

Only Osimhen and rising Gift Orban are the Nigerians who made the cut out of the 100 names nominated for the various categories.

There are 30 players competing for the CAF African Player of the Year award, and 20 players have been nominated for the CAF Interclub Player of the Year award. The other awards of Coach of the Year, CAF National Team of the Year, Club of the Year, and CAF Young Player of the Year (for players under 21) have 10 nominees each.

For the first time, CAF has added a new category: CAF African Goalkeeper of the Year (Men and Women). This is to honour and celebrate the exceptional performances of shot stoppers at the event. 10 players are nominated for this new award.

Gift Orban, a Gent forward, is also a contender for the Young Player of the Year award. He follows Victor Osimhen, who was the last Nigerian to win this award in 2015.

Orban has been impressive for his Belgian club, scoring 27 goals in all competitions since moving from Staebek in Norway in January.

The nominees for the women’s categories will be announced soon.

Sadio Mane of Senegal and Asisat Oshoala of Nigeria were crowned CAF African Player of the Year and CAF African Women’s Player of the Year, respectively, for a record fifth time in the last Awards Gala in Rabat, Morocco, in July 2022.

CAF says that the Awards Gala will be held on December 11, 2023, in Marrakech, Morocco.